IF Kevin Johnson had a view from the garage in which he started his business in 1978, it probably wasn’t through a high-quality double glazed window, and certainly wouldn’t have shed any light on the progress the company was to make over the next 40 years.
Kevin and his business associate Tony Foster started making double glazed units in the garage and spare bedroom at Tony’s home in Wellingborough – fitting them into aluminium frames and installing them for customers around the area.
Today, T&K Home Improvements is part of a group that employs close to 300 people and enjoys a turnover of £36.8m, with its Window and Conservatory Village in Huxley Close on the Park Farm Industrial Estate showcasing its windows, doors, conservatories, orangeries, solid tiled conservatory roofs and verandas.
Just next door, sister company, Emplas, the manufacturing arm of the business, produces nearly all of the products used in T&K projects in its state-of-the-art factory.
Back in 1978, the firm began to grow almost immediately when its supplier of aluminium frames went bust and Kevin and Tony bought them out and began making their own units.
In the intervening years, the entrepreneurial spirit has seen T&K move into new areas of home improvement, as well as founding Emplas in 1985 to cope with orders from trade customers, seeing the firm eventually becoming one of the original major trade suppliers in the UK.
The move to Huxley Close was completed in 2001 and in 2014, Kevin’s son Ryan Johnson took over as Managing Director.
Ryan said: “Our strapline is ‘small enough to care but certainly large enough to cope’ and that’s what being a family business is all about. We’re proud to have reached this 40-year milestone in such a competitive industry.
“We employ 292 people now and have invested heavily over the years in equipment and processes that keep T&K at the forefront of the industry, including £1.4m worth of machinery just last year, as well as upgrades to the showroom display and product range.”
Find out more about T&K Home Improvements by calling 01933 677444, email or visit the website www.tkhi.co.uk